Fruehauf Trailer Co.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Sep 19, 1949

85 N.L.R.B. 1509 (N.L.R.B. 1949)

In the Matter of FRUEIIAUF TRAILER COMPANY, EMPLOYER AND PETI-
TIONER and LOCAL LODGE #778, INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF
MACHINISTS, PETITIONER AND UNION
In the Matter of KEYSTONE TRAILER & EQUIPMENT COMPANY, INC.,
EMPLOYER and LOCAL LODGE #778, INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF
MACHINISTS, PETITIONER
In the Matter Of TRAILMOBILE COMPANY, EMPLOYER and LOCAL LODGE
#778, INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF MACHINISTS, PETITIONER
Cases Nos. 17-RC-467, 17-RM-26, 17-RC-468, and 17-RC-472,
respectively.Decided September 19, 1949
DECISION
AND
DIRECTION OF ELECTIONS
Upon separate petitions 1 duly filed, a consolidated hearing2 was
held in Kansas. City, Missouri, on August 2 and 3, 1949, before
Charles F. McCoy, hearing officer. The hearing officer's rulings made
at the hearing are free from prejudicial error and are hereby affirmed.
Pursuant to the provisions of.Section 3 (b) of the National Labor
Relations Act, the Board has delegated its powers in connection with
this case to a three-member panel [Members Reynolds, Murdock, and
Gray]. .
Upon the entire record in this case, the Board finds :
1. The Employers are engaged in commerce within the meaning of
the Act.
2. The labor organizations involved claim to represent certain
employees of the Employers.
1 The original petitions in Cases Nos. 17-RC-467, 468, and 472 were Jointly signed by
the Petitioner and Local 498, International Brotherhood of Teamsters , Chauffeurs, Ware-
housemen , and Helpers of America , AFL. With the consent of all parties, the formal
request of Local 498 to withdraw from these cases as a petitioner was granted by the
Regional Director on August 3, 1949.
2 Cases Nos. 17-RC-467, 468, and 472, and 17-RM-26 were consolidated by order of the
Regional Director dated July 18, 1949.
85 N. L. R. B., No. 235.
1509
1510 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
3. The question concerning representation :
The Intervenors, International Union, United Automobile Workers
of America , AFL, herein called the International , and its affiliate,
Local Union No. 447 , contend that separate contracts entered into by
the Employers and Local 447 are a bar to this proceeding . The Peti-
tioner disputes this contention on the ground that Local 447 is defunct.
Keystone and Trailmobile took a neutral position at the hearing;
Fruehauf , by filing the petition in Case No . 17-RM-26, seeks to have
the issue of representation decided by an election.
The Employers have bargained collectively for many years with
Local 447 as the representative of their automotive service employees.
The current contracts , resulting from union authorization petitions
filed with the Board , are for 2-year terms and were separately executed
between June 1948 and March 1949. Early in April 1949, the Inter-
national Association of Machinists , herein called the IAM, and the
International Brotherhood of Teamsters , Chauffeurs , Warehousemen
and Helpers of America , AFL, instituted an intensive organizational
campaign among the automotive service workers in the greater Kansas
City area . The officers of Local 447 , concerned about this threat to
their membership , communicated with the president of the Interna-
tional . Dissatisfied with the response to their requests for assistance,
the officers decided to hold an election among Local 447 members to
determine whether or not they wanted to dissolve Local 447 and
affiliate with the IAM. This decision was affirmed at a special meet-
ung of all shop stewards on April 28 , 1949, and ballots were distributed
by the stewards among the members on the two succeeding days. The
record disclosed that approximately 95 percent of the more than 1,100
members of Local 447 cast ballots in this election , and, with but 3
dissenting votes, voted to dissolve Local 447 and affiliate with the IAM.
A few days later, the Petitioner received its charter from the IAM.
With few exceptions , all former members of Local 447 immediately
became members of the Petitioner . Membership dues were paid to
the Petitioner and not to Local 447. On May 10, 1949, at a regular
meeting of the Petitioner , all former officers of Local 447 were elected
to similar positions with the Petitioner . All the shop stewards of
Local 447 continued to function as the shop stewards of the Peti-
tioner. Later in . May, notice of the dissolution of Local 447 was given
to the International . On June 30 , 1949, the president of the Inter-
national appointed an administrator to take over the affairs of Local
447 and on the same day served a demand on the former officers of
Local 447 to turn over all records and property of Local 447 to the
administrator.
FRUEHAUF TRAILER COMPANY 1511
The Intervenors argue that Local 447, which was represented at
the hearing by the administrator, is still in existence, and that the
valid contracts executed by Local 447 with the Employers herein are
a bar to this proceeding. The Intervenors, relying on a provision of
the International constitution that a local union shall remain in
existence when 7 or more of its members are desirous of retaining
the local charter, introduced into evidence affidavits signed by 12
employees of Keystone to the effect that they wanted to maintain their
membership in Local 447. The Petitioner raised doubts about the
validity of these affidavits, and introduced testimony that 10 of these
12 employees had voted for the change in union affiliation and that
most of them were now members of the Petitioner. The Intervenors
further sought to prove that Local 447 was not legally dissolved be-
cause the constitution and bylaws of the International and of Local
447 were not complied with, that the membership was coerced and
unduly influenced in the vote conducted by the officers, and that the
whole movement was one that was instigated by the officers.
We need not resolve these disputed points. There is sufficient evi-
dence in this record to show that a substantial doubt exists as to the
identity of the labor organization which the employees desire to repre-
sent them. This doubt can best be resolved by an election by secret
ballot. We have held, under circumstances such as are present in this
case, that an existing contract does not bar a present determination of
representative.'
We find that a question affecting commerce exists concerning the
representation of employees of the Employers, within the meaning of
Section 9 (c) (1) and Section 2 (6) and (7) of the Act.
4. We find that the following units are appropriate for the purposes
of collective bargaining within the meaning of Section 9 (b) of the
Act : 4
(1) All service and maintenance employees of the Fruehauf Trailer
Company at its Kansas City, Missouri, factory branch, excluding
clerical and parts room employees, and supervisors as defined in the
Act.
. (2) All production and'service 'department employees of the Key-
stone Trailer & Equipment Company, Inc., Kansas City, Missouri, ex-
cluding salesmen, timekeepers, inspectors, administrative employees,
i Matter of Pittsburgh Plate Glass Company, 80 N. L. R. B. 1331, and cases there cited.
See also Matter of The Liquid Carbonic Corporation, 85 N. L. R. B. 284. Cf. Matter
of Wilson Athletic Goods Manufacturing Co., Inc ., 79 N. L. It. B. 1415.
* All parties agreed to the appropriateness of these units , which conform to the unit
descriptions in the contracts between the Employers and Local 447, in the event the
Board decided to order elections.
1512 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
office and clerical employees, stock clerks and stock clerk assistants,
janitors, guards, and supervisors as defined in the Act.
(3) All service and maintenance employees of the Trailmobile Com-
pany at its Kansas City, Missouri, factory branch, excluding office,.
clerical, and parts room employees, salesmen, and supervisors as de-
fined in the Act.
DIRECTION OF ELECTIONS 5
As part of the investigation to ascertain representatives for the.
purposes of collective bargaining with the Employers, elections by
secret ballot shall be conducted as early as possible, but not later than
30 days from the date of this Direction, under the direction and super-
vision of the Regional Director for the Region in which this case was,
heard, and subject to Sections 203.61 and 203.62 of National Labor Re-
lations Board Rules and Regulations, among employees in the units
found appropriate in paragraph numbered 4, above, who were em-
ployed during the pay-roll period immediately preceding the date of
this Direction of Elections, including employees who did not work
during said pay-roll period because they were ill or on vacation or
temporarily laid off, but excluding those employees who have since.
quit or been discharged for cause and have not been rehired or rein-
stated prior to the date of the elections, and also excluding employees.
on strike who are not entitled to reinstatement, to determine whether-
they desire to be represented, for purposes of collective bargaining, by
Local Lodge #778, International Association of Machinists, by Local
Union No. 447, International Union, United Automobile Workers of
America, AFL, or by neither.
Either participant in the elections directed herein may, upon its prompt request to and'
approval thereof by the Regional Director, have its name removed from the ballot.